Hi Everybody,
Grinsekatze has kindly sent me their reports (and given permission to quote from them), and I thought I would share some of their comments with you. I have interspersed their comments with my own to help explain some of what they say. The comments were given to me as a list of the things they enjoyed about the module. There is a second (thankfully smaller list 
) of things that they felt could be improved, but some of those points I am still addressing, as one or two were unrecognised bugs. For this reason, that list is not yet included, but will be after I have received all beta tester reports.
I hope this may be of interest to you all. I will update with further reports as I receive them.
Cheers,
Lance
G - Journal pops up when you get an important update.
I believe this is referring to when a new creature is added to the bestiary, and new information is gained regarding lore or the rules. A small banner is flashed to the player at the top of the screen in such situations, giving them a head's up that there is new information that can be accessed and read from either the journal (bestiary section), or the new Main Menu (for rules and lore).
G - The recommend button in the journal.
I changed a button in the journal to be "Recommended" to help players decide which quest may be worth trying next. It is only a rough guide, and sometimes the one at the top may still be "impossible" due to one reason or another, but you then move to the next in the list and so on. If the recommended list is followed, then it is usually the "safest" path (based upon the quests you currently have collected), and allows the player to see most of the game.
G - The surroundings, ambience and atmosphere of the module. For example the rain, the jumping fishes, the wandering villagers, the landscape and so on.
I include my own dynamic weather system in the module, which alters weather conditions according to time and date, including rain, fog, snow, etc. (However, snow is unlikely for players at the moment, as this module takes place in summer, and the climate is unlikely to produce snow until later months.) The jumping fishes was a hak I came across; the ambient behaviour of NPCs is part of my Real Life system, and the landscapes (the better ones) are from others who have helped me. 
G - Different kind of riddles; like Memory, Mastermind, Torn Papers, Runes in Crypt, Decoder, and so on.
This campaign is very much based around my PnP experiences and so puzzles are an essential part of the adventure for me. I enjoyed coding these, and I felt they were worth the time to include. For those that do not like puzzles as much, there are alternative ways to solve them.
G - Very good grammar with very, very few typos.
My beta testers (including G), helped me squash those that remained. And I have no doubt, that the odd one or two may still get through.
G - Different kinds of bags of holding, so gathering ingredients isn't so tedious anymore.
I must admit that I too find inventory management can be a pain in NWN2, and so I really wanted to design a reasonably robust auto-collect system for those that invested their gold in appropriate carriers. There were some teething problems during beta testing, but they have all been fixed! Now, we are left with a convenient way of gathering items, especially useful if you are into crafting. You can also buy bags and rename them using a smith hammer, so you have even more inventory management.
G - The fantastic support of the developer.
Very kind to say. I just like being the best DM I can be ... to anybody who likes to play and get the best from something.
G - The use of the 'Fog of War', so you can see where you have been and which area still must be discovered.
An essential for all those who come from a PnP background and recall the days when the DM used to help a party map as they went along. For those that prefer "full" maps at the push of a button, there is a "gift" that one can take early on in the game that can help with this. However, it would be at the cost of missing out on another choice of "gift" that may be even more to your liking.
G - The idea of the 'Life Essences' is a great invention. Above all to let decide the player himself in which way he will use the essences; for solving riddles or revive a comrade and so on.
Life Essences have been a core design concept from the very early days of PnP. It's just taken this long until they have met fruition. In that time, however, their involvement in certain actions has grown and is a great way to help play your game your way.
G - To encourage the player in independent thinking.
Independent thinking is a key point to this campaign. This will either be something you like or don't like.
G - Contains much custom content: from scrolls, books, calendar to changes for resting, enchanting, creating items ...
I wanted the world of Althéa to be a new world for players to explore. It has been in existence from its PnP days since 1989. Therefore, it has a great deal of background to draw upon. I wanted to make sure that the PnP elements that were at the core of my campaign came across into the NWN version. While this involved a great deal of change, I hope the changes were all for the better.
G - Different kinds of merchants. Not every merchant buys/sells everything, so you must think before selling/buying merchandises.
Again, differences in NPCs was always part of the core design, even down to individual stores and their owners. And while a computer environment limits the degree of flexibility compared to PnP, there are (hopefully) still enough gameplay elements that differ between NPC based interaction, which I hope the player notices. E.g. Conversations can start even during a store transaction. (This is rare, but this kind of thing is now available to me for future modules.)
G - You created a whole new world with its own history, laws, faiths, struggles; and you can see and feel it's a labour of love.
D&D, from its earliest days, has indeed been a life-long hobby for me. As my health now restricts what I can do, having the ability to work on this world campaign via the NWN engine is a blessing and I am glad it is something I can use to give something back to a community of fellow gamers.
G - It's a little bit difficult at the beginning with all the rule changes, but soon you get sucked in the story unfolding. You want to solve thoses secrets, puzzle, riddles ... Everytime I discovered a new secret, puzzle or riddle I was like :"Oh yeah, lets get started."
Without doubt, this module is *very different* from anything else you will have played. It does require time, thought and attention to be enjoyed. And for those who approach it with this in mind, then the rewards will hopefully be worthwhile, and turn into an adventure that you will remember. And, if I ever finish them, a story you can continue with in the months or years ahead.
G - There's no senseless hacking and slashing (that would be something I dislike; therefore I don't play "Hack'n'Slash" modules). Some encounters are quite challenging but not unbeatable.
The Scroll does not stop you from doing some things ahead of when you should be trying them, but does give a few warnings or try to deter you. If you choose to ignore those signs, then some encounters will be more challenging than others. However, I have also included a turn-based style auto-pause system for those players (like myself) who like to slow down combat and even control every companion's action themselves (by turning all companion AI off at the toggle of a new button).
G - Recorded Total Time: 31hrs 38Mins
The Scroll comes with a built in game timer (accessible from the Main Menu), which tries to keep a rough track of un-paused time played. While not precise, it does help give a rough indication of the length of play time the module has. I will update further final times as I receive more beta tester results.
G - Party Composition (Final)
CREATED PCS and/or COMPANIONS:
Jacia Lyonsen, Human, Rogue 5/ Fighter 5
Tailor Wright, Human, Cleric 10
Threska Cassi, Gold Dwarf, Cleric 9
Aeriol Dune, Sun Elf, Wizard 10
Monty Kurtain, Human, Ranger 9
Kasandra Birch, Human, Rogue 8
HENCHMEN:
Sebastion, Construct, Level 2 Construct
Scraps, Animal, Level 7 Animal
This is this beta testers party composition upon completion. Yours can certainly vary depending upon whether you take on companions or use your own created PCs. All PCs start at first level.
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